Jonathan Comey: Patriots favor youth with unexpected cuts

That was evident Friday as the team did its trimming to the first of what will be a succession of evolving 53-man rosters, cutting some unexpected names.

Tom Brady was already looking uncomfortable in preseason without his longtime left tackle Matt Light, and Friday's cuts took away three more squares in his security quilt: three-year backup Brian Hoyer, longtime center Dan Koppen and veteran receiver Deion Branch.

While Koppen's release was expected — Ryan Wendell and Dan Connolly were younger and offered positional flexibility — Branch and Hoyer came as surprises.

Hoyer lost out to Ryan Mallett based on talent (less) and salary (more), while Branch was a bigger surprise — one that suggests the Patriots aren't done tweaking their receiver mix.

Following the moves on Twitter, the difference in vibes between receivers Branch (out) and Julian Edelman (in) were stark; Branch expressed thanks to all his fans and family with the hashtag #LovePeaceandHappiness while Edelman sent out a series of tweets about his quest for the best burger in Providence.

Youth 1, Experience 0.

The gap between Branch and Edelman seems to be indicative of how this team is approaching things these days.

Not only will Brady come into Week 1 as the team's oldest player at 35, he will do so with only one current teammate — Vince Wilfork — having celebrated a Super Bowl with him.

The release of Branch and Koppen leaves the Patriots with only a single player (Brady) over the age of 32.

It's a tribute to the Patriots' building process that they can be a Super Bowl favorite with what is a completely rebuilt core, but only the ultimate goal — a fourth title — will satisfy.

The rest of Friday's cuts featured some small surprises but no seismic shocks.

Safety James Ihedigbo was a 12-game starter in 2011, but the Patriots' aggressive offseason in adding to that position didn't bode well for the scrappy but relatively unathletic UMass product.

Visanthe Schiancoe was a bit of a surprise inclusion at tight end since he barely saw the field in preseason, but he provides insurance if Rob Gronkowski goes down — extremely important, given the Patriots' thin depth at wide receiver. This team doesn't need much in reserve behind Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd at WR if Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are playing 60 snaps every week, but if one of the twin terrors goes down without a reliable backup there's trouble. Shiancoe and Daniel Fells provide that depth at tight end.

By my count, the Patriots actually cut down to 52, and with only eight offensive linemen you'd expect guard Brian Waters to join the mix shortly.

Rookie Jeff Demps, so exciting when he got on the field this August, took a second-half injury Wednesday night all the way to injured reserve, ensuring a running back spot for Brandon Bolden.

Defensively, the Patriots kept a whopping 17 guys for the seven spots up front, including surprise inclusion Marcus Fortson at defensive tackle. With a nickel package expected on a good chunk of the defensive downs, that's a lot of commitment to a front seven that figures to take a quantum leap forward.

Some of the guys who wound up on the cutting-room floor Friday will wind up in other cities — as is the case every year with Patriot castoffs. You don't build a dynasty without the ability to track talent, and New England always has a surplus when the end of August rolls around.

For football geeks, the next few days are fascinating as teams make little tweaks to their rosters.

For the vast majority of fans, though, it's little more than a blip on the radar, and for good reason — no one that winds up as one of those tough roster cuts was or is going to have a big impact on a championship season.

The nucleus is what matters, and the Patriots' ability to manipulate the fringe around that nucleus is well-established.